Telecom split nearly didn’t happen – departing Chorus exec

Sat, 14 Nov 2020

Departing head of corporate relations at Chorus Ian Bonnar says the breakup of Telecom in 2011 very nearly did not happen.The network operator was carved out as a standalone company in a demerger almost 10 years ago, freeing Telecom of the regulatory burden of owning the lines and enabling Chorus to participate in the government's $1.5 billion ultrafast broadband programme, which blocked partners from providing retail services. The vertical integration and dominance of Telecom - privatised in 1990 - rankled with Helen Clark's Labou...

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